Cisco Cisco UCS B200 M4 Blade Server Libro blanco
Architectural Comparison: Cisco UCS and the Dell FX2 Platform
September 2015
© 2015 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public information.
Page 7
The worst-case scenario is an enclosure with eight Dell PowerEdge FC430 blades.
This configuration requires 160 cables to maintain redundant connectivity to each
server block. This number, plus a total of 10 management network cables, brings
the maximum cabling requirement to 170 cables and upstream switch ports.
This configuration requires 160 cables to maintain redundant connectivity to each
server block. This number, plus a total of 10 management network cables, brings
the maximum cabling requirement to 170 cables and upstream switch ports.
Dell FX2 Enclosure with I/O Aggregator Switches
If you use two I/O aggregators per chassis, the networking requirements (Figure 3)
include two switches per FX2 enclosure with one chassis management module. To
support redundant 10-Gbps connectivity per blade, each switch needs two network
cables per chassis to the ToR switches plus one chassis management cable, for
a total of five cables per chassis. With 10 FX2 enclosures, you will have total of
50 cables connecting to the ToR switches. In addition, you will have 20 in-chassis
switches to manage.
include two switches per FX2 enclosure with one chassis management module. To
support redundant 10-Gbps connectivity per blade, each switch needs two network
cables per chassis to the ToR switches plus one chassis management cable, for
a total of five cables per chassis. With 10 FX2 enclosures, you will have total of
50 cables connecting to the ToR switches. In addition, you will have 20 in-chassis
switches to manage.
Dell FX2 Enclosure with LAN and SAN
If you configure both a LAN and a SAN using Dell I/O aggregators (that support
both LAN and SAN), you will need (Figure 4): two switches per chassis, two
LAN connections per switch, at least one SAN connection per switch, and one
connection for management, for a total of seven cables per chassis. With 10 FX2
enclosures, you thus need a total of 70 cables connecting to ToR SAN and LAN
ports, and you will have 20 in-chassis switches to manage.
both LAN and SAN), you will need (Figure 4): two switches per chassis, two
LAN connections per switch, at least one SAN connection per switch, and one
connection for management, for a total of seven cables per chassis. With 10 FX2
enclosures, you thus need a total of 70 cables connecting to ToR SAN and LAN
ports, and you will have 20 in-chassis switches to manage.
10 Dell FX2 Enclosures
Populated with 4 FC630
Server Blocks Each
2 Pass-Through
Modules per
Enclosure
1 Management
Module per
Enclosure
ToR Switches: Management Network Switch
Production Network Switches
2 network connections to
each server = 80 cables
+
1 management network
connection per enclosure
= 10 cables
Total of 90 cables and upstream
switch ports
Figure 2. Using Pass-Through Modules, a Sample Configuration Requires 90 Cables and
Switch Ports
Switch Ports